The present invention is related in general to the field of semiconductor devices and processes and more specifically to the use of organic light-emitting diodes for optocouplers.
Commercial light emitting diodes (LEDs) typically constitute a p-n junction of inorganic, doped semiconducting materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) or aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs). At these junctions between the doped layers, recombination of electrons and holes results in interband emission of light.
Heteroepitaxial growth of direct bandgap III-V compound semiconductors such as GaAs, InP, and GaP on silicon substrates, from which LEDs can be fabricated, yields highly defective material due to mismatches in lattice parameters and thermal expansion coefficients. These LEDs do not perform well, and the silicon circuits are affected during the heteroepitaxy due to the required high growth temperatures (typically greater than 600xc2x0 C.). Further, achieving good electrical isolation is not easy in these approaches.
As an alternative, III-V LEDs have been integrated with a silicon drive circuit at the package level; for instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,700, issued Oct. 27, 1992 (Reid, deceased et al., xe2x80x9cSubstrate with Optical Communication Systems between Chips Mounted thereon and Monolithic Integration of Optical I/O on Silicon Substratesxe2x80x9d), based on U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,476, issued Apr. 23, 1991 (Reid et al., xe2x80x9cSemiconductor Layer with Optical Communication between Chips Disposed thereinxe2x80x9d). But these approaches are expensive and not suitable for wafer-level integration.
Recently, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have drawn much attention, especially for emissive display applications. Since OLEDs can be fabricated on any smooth surface, such as silicon wafers, and at low ( less than 100xc2x0 C.) temperatures, they are also very promising for many optoelectronic applications. Electroluminescent devices have been constructed using multi-layer organic films. Basic structure and working are described in xe2x80x9cElectroluminescence of Doped Organic Thin Filmsxe2x80x9d (J. Appl. Phys., vol. 65, pp. 3610-3616, 1989) by C. W. Tang, S. A. VanSlyke, and C. H. Chen. The review article xe2x80x9cStatus of and Prospects for Organic Electroluminescencexe2x80x9d (J. Materials Res., vol. 11, pp. 3174-3187. December 1996, by L. J. Rothberg and A. J. Lovinger) describes various OLED device structures in the form of stacks of thin layers with carrier injection and transverse current flow. For example, the stack may be a transparent substrate (for instance, glass), a transparent anode (for instance, indium-tin oxide, ITO), a hole transport layer (for instance, TPD), an emissive layer which also is an electron transport layer and in which electron-hole recombination and luminescence occur (for instance, Alq3), and a cathode (a metal with low work function, for instance, magnesium or a magnesium-containing alloy such as Mg:Ag). xe2x80x9cTPDxe2x80x9d is N,Nxe2x80x2-diphenyl-N,Nxe2x80x2-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1xe2x80x2biphenyl-4,4xe2x80x2diamine. xe2x80x9cAlq3xe2x80x9d is tris(8-hydroxy) quinoline aluminum.
A different approach using siloxane self-assembly techniques, has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,100, issued on Nov. 10, 1998 (Marks et al., xe2x80x9cOrganic Light-Emitting Diodes and Method for Assembly and Emission Controlxe2x80x9d).
In addition to the OLEDs, many related devices such as organic laser diodes, photodetectors, etc. may be realized using organic semiconductors. For many applications such as on-chip interconnects, laser diodes are preferred over LEDs. Laser action has been demonstrated in polymeric organic films, but only by employing optical pumping (for instance, xe2x80x9cLaser Emission from Solutions and Films Containing Semiconducting Polymer and Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystalsxe2x80x9d, Chem. Phys. Lett., vol. 256, pp. 424-430, 1996, by F. Hide, B. J. Schwartz, M. A. Diaz-Garcia, and A. J. Heeger; xe2x80x9cLasing from Conjugated-Polymer Microcavitiesxe2x80x9d, Nature, vol. 382, pp. 695-697, by N. Tessler, G. J. Denton, and R. H. Friend; xe2x80x9cSemiconducting Polymers: a New Class of Solid-State Laser Materialsxe2x80x9d, Science, vol. 273, pp. 1833-1836, 1996, by F. Hide, M. A. Diaz-Garcia, B. J. Schwartz, M. R. Andersson, Q. Pei, and A. J. Heeger). Inadequate charge injection is the main roadblock in achieving an organic-based solid-state laser from electrically pumped organic films. The optical linking of OLEDs with light-sensitive devices has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,160, issued May 25, 1999 (Wilson et al., xe2x80x9cTin Film Organic Light Emitting Diode with Edge Emitter Waveguidexe2x80x9d).
In their paper xe2x80x9cEnhanced Electron Injection in Organic Electroluminescence Devices using an Al/LiF Electrodexe2x80x9d (Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 70, pp. 152-154, 1997), L. S. Hung, C. W. Tang, and M. G. Mason disclose the beneficial effects of inserting an inorganic dielectric layer (LiF, thin enough for electron tunneling, 0.5 to 1.0 nm) between the metal cathode (Al) and organic material. The energy bands of Alq3 are bent downwards by the contact with LiF, thus substantially lowering the electronic barrier height of the Alq3-Al interfaces and enhancing the electron injection. The operating voltage is reduced and cathode metals of higher work function can be used. Further, the devices employ a thin (15 nm) buffer layer at the anode (ITO), comprised of CuPc (copper phthalocyanine). The hole transport layer is NPB (N,Nxe2x80x2-bis(1-naphthyl)-N,Nxe2x80x2-diphenyl-1,1xe2x80x2-biphenyl-4,4xe2x80x2-diamine). Alq3 is the emissive as well as electron transport layer.
Methods for fabrication and characterization (such as film thickness, and light intensity and wavelength) have been described in xe2x80x9cCharacterization of Organic Thin Films for OLEDs using Spectroscopic Ellipsometryxe2x80x9d (F. G. Celii, T. B. Harton, and O. F. Phillips, J. Electronic Materials, vol. 26, pp. 366-371, 1997). The organic materials may be amorphous or polycrystalline discrete molecular, or may be polymeric. Polymer layers differ from discrete molecular layers because they are typically not fabricated by vacuum vapor deposition, but rather by spin coating from an appropriate solvent. The polymeric layers may also be deposited (either by vapor deposition or by spin coating) as pre-polymer layers and then converted either thermally or photochemically to the active form. Spin coating, spin casting, or melt techniques have the advantage of large area coverage and low fabrication cost.
The state of the art has been advanced by three recent patent applications to which the present invention is related. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/156,166, filed on Sep. 17, 1998 (Celii et al., xe2x80x9cOrganic Light Emitting Diodesxe2x80x9d), an OLED is provided with dielectric barriers at both the anode-organic and cathode-organic interfaces. Increased carrier injection efficiencies and increased overall OLED efficiency plus lower voltage operation are thus enabled. The subsequent U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/165,060, filed on Nov. 12, 1999 (Jacobs et al., xe2x80x9cStructure and Method of Electrically-Pumped Organic Laser Diodes using Charge-Injection Layersxe2x80x9d) applies the high injection efficiency to organic lasers. The further U.S. patent application (TI-26315, Kim et al., xe2x80x9cPhoto-lithographic Method for Fabricating Organic Light-Emitting Diodesxe2x80x9d) introduces mass-production techniques, compatible with silicon technology, to OLED fabrication.
A challenge has therefore arisen to conceive structures and fabrication methods for optocouplers having integrated organic light-emitting diodes suitable for miniaturization and high process yield. Preferably, this concept should be based on fundamental design solutions flexible enough to be applied for different diode, laser and integrated circuit product families and a wide spectrum of material and assembly variations. Manufacturing should be low cost and the devices stable and reliable. Preferably, the innovations should be accomplished using established fabrication techniques and the installed equipment base.
According to the present invention, an optocoupler is created by an integrated circuit which includes an optically transparent, electrically insulating surface, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) formed on that surface, and a light-absorbing device embedded in the circuit yet electrically isolated from the diode.
It is an aspect of the present invention to fabricate efficient OLEDs using methods compatible with silicon technology and mass production, and integrate the diodes with photodetector integrated circuits.
Another aspect of the invention is to achieve electrical isolation between the light sources and the light-activated devices by an optically transparent, yet electrically insulating surface layer of the semiconductor wafer.
Another aspect of the invention is to select the photo-detecting devices from a group consisting of photodiodes coupled to amplifiers, phototransistors, and photodarlingtons.
Another aspect of the invention is to fabricate the optocouplers in wafer form and separate the wafer after completion of the fabrication process into discrete units; the units may be individual chips or optocoupler arrays.
In the first embodiment of the invention, the transparent and insulating surface of the wafer is an overcoat layer made of a material selected from a group consisting of silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, and silicon oxynitride.
In the second embodiment of the invention, the transparent and insulating surface of the wafer is a sheet-like glass.
Several variations of structures and process steps are described. Electrical and optical parameters are discussed. By way of example, an optocoupler based on an OLED and p-i-n diode/amplifier integrated circuit is described in detail.
The technical advances represented by the invention, as well as the aspects thereof, will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the novel features set forth in the appended claims.